5 hrs 27 minutes. Solid stuff on a very hilly day.

Forty per cent done. Halfway through Spain. Superlatives are superfluous. A lot of bookies will be getting nervous now, shortening the odds. I stand to make a lot of money at this rate.

Bit of a Tour de France day for Hugh, tough given he has shoes instead of a bike. Pipe clenched between teeth, that won't stop him. Constant climbing on small hill roads which was hard work. An awful lot of elevation gain actually - almost 4000 ft. 'How I would have enjoyed it' I told him, out of the window, 'had I been fit', before speeding off. Lots of cyclists were also struggling up there, at times almost a peleton escort for Hugh.

A cold day to start with, probably mercifully given the climb and then it warmed up in the afternoon as Hugh began a slow descent to the main road lying winding through the valley. We arrived in Villaviciosa a beautiful small town where we shall stay for 2 nights in order to get some chores done - washing and you tubes uploaded. Ah, the glamour of it all. We're in a lovely old hotel though and the surrounding countryside is the centre of Asturian cider apple growing. Fortuitous indeed.